Bitter Sweet
by Fox Kitsune
Summary: Sequel to OTVOLG. Yumi and Ulrich are dealing with parenthood, Sam and Odd get ready for children, and Aelita and Jeremie celebrate marriage. Things are good for the Lyoko gang. But...how long can that last? YU, JA, OS. Return of Xana?
1. A Warm Welcome

Disclaimer: Nope

_Disclaimer: Nope._

_Author's Note: Wow…I'm the WORST author ever. I haven't updated ANYTHING in FOREVER! And yes, I do like caps lock. Anyway, sorry for this freakishly long wait. Things are crazy right now. It seems if I'm not doing something, it's something else. Thanks for sticking with me! Oh, and I haven't decided if I'm going to bring back Lyoko or Xana or anything like that for this story because that plot is done a lot. But yeah, I'll think about it. If you'd like to see that (much later, may I add), then review and lemme know._

Bitter Sweet

Chapter 1: A "Warm" Welcoming

Ulrich Stern could remember sleep. Not just sleep, but deep sleep. He could also remember dreams, nightmares, and other such hallucinations. He never thought he'd miss them until now…

"Ulrich…?" Yumi groaned from her side of the bed. She sounded terrible. "Please…"

They both knew it was her turn, but she had just crossed the threshold between consciousness and sleep, and Ulrich was wired. So, with a nod, he threw the covers off himself, getting chills at the spring air and making a mental note to start wearing more than just boxers to bed, and stood and stretched. His eyes fell on the digital clock on his bedside table. The neon red lights changed, and read 3:02. Surprisingly, he was too restless to even think of sleep.

Crossing the small house, he stopped just outside the kids' room. Nanami, who never seemed to stop crying, was hollering as loud as she could. Usually, there was nothing wrong with her, so Ulrich figured she just liked to hear herself make noise. Alex on the other hand, never made a sound, even when he was hurt, and often made it hard for his parents to tell when something was indeed wrong.

"Shh, honey," Ulrich whispered, picking up Nanami and rocking her slowly. "What's the matter?" Nothing. Of course not. After Ulrich made sure nothing earthly was making her upset, he sat down in the rocker and laid her against his chest. She yawned and started to fade back into sleep against her new pillow. Her father smiled down at her. Suddenly, it didn't matter that it was three a.m. or that he couldn't remember the last night he'd actually gotten a good amount of sleep. Everything was alright when he was with his children and with Yumi.

His children…though it was a blissful thought, it was also scary. He was sixteen, soon to be seventeen, and already he had the most beautiful children on the planet. Well, that was to be expected, he decided, just by looking at their mother. He smiled to himself.

Nanami yawned, her eyes slowly closing despite her best efforts to stay awake. Soon, she was asleep again, and after Ulrich had returned her to bed, he crawled back into his own. He wasn't wired anymore. He was exhausted.

It was a nightly occurrence. Yumi and he were lucky to get more than just a few broken hours of sleep each night. They were both physically and mentally exhausted, past the breaking point. But they never complained. And they never would.

"Ulrich?" Yumi muttered sleepily when he had returned to bed. She snuggled into his side, laying her head on his chest. She only slept best when with him. That must be love.

He smiled, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you Yumi."

"Love you too," she said between yawns, and was instantly asleep again.

X

"Jeremie!" Aelita called from the bedroom. "When are we going?"

Her husband had lost track of the time. He flipped the egg casually as his eyes scanned the clock. They were already late. "In just a minute!" he yelled back. Well, they couldn't let the food go to waste.

Aelita meet him in the kitchen, towel drying her beautiful, pink hair. She smiled, leaning against the doorframe. "I'm glad you got today off of work. It'll be nice for us all to be together again."

The blonde genius nodded. "Yeah…I wonder if the kids have driven them insane yet…" He muttered, mostly to himself, as he set down Aelita's breakfast.

She beamed. "Thanks." They usually took turns making breakfast, but, despite herself, every time he cooked, she always felt so grateful. Jeremie knew it was just because of what kind of person she was.

"And, I don't think so," she continued, replying to his previous thought. "Yumi and Ulrich are both strong. If anyone can do this, they can."

Jeremie ate his eggs idly. That was true. They were probably the strongest people he knew. He wasn't sure if he could handle fatherhood so early, even if it had been planned.

"Jeremie…?" Aelita whispered a few moments later.

He stood to rinse his plate, but stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of her voice. Why did she seem so…sad? "What is it, Aelita?"

"Do you think….Well…could I ever have children?"

Jeremie had to remind himself how to breathe. For a full ten seconds, he stood in silence. Was she implying that she _wanted _kids? No, no. Perhaps she was simply curious. But if she did…could Jeremie explain to her why it would be a bad idea? Would she take it the wrong way? He bit his lip, evening his heartbeat before answering. "I'm not sure…I'm not really the one you should ask." Though she had asked him a few times before, never really getting an answer.

"Why not?" she asked, not understanding. "You know more about me than anyone. You researched me-" he flinched at the word choice-"You rescued me from Lyoko. You brought me here…shouldn't you know?"

He gulped audibly. "Listen Aelita…that may be true, but I'm just a guy…this is something you would have to talk to Yumi or Sam about. I'm sorry."

She didn't understand, but she trusted him. So she simply nodded, letting the conversation die. After she had rinsed off her plate and grabbed her jacket, she chanced talking again. "Alright…I'll talk to them."

Jeremie nodded back, wondering where this had all come from. "Alright. Let's go meet up with the others."

X

"Are we gonna tell them?" Sam asked, staring out her window.

Odd wanted to be able to calmly talk to her about this, to try to help, but he was driving. His eyes never drifted from the highway. "If you want…" he muttered. He was having a hard time believing it still. He doubted he could tell anyone.

She shrugged, finding interest in the simple scenery of Paris. She knew she probably would tell them…who knew when their next get-together would be. Everyone was working now, trying to support themselves. They were lucky they had today. "Alright…we tell them then."

Odd recoiled at "we" but knew he was just as responsible for this as she was. He had to step up, be a man. So he nodded. "Alright…"

He pulled into Yumi and Ulrich's driveway, putting the car in "park" but refusing to turn it off. It idled there for a few minutes before Sam turned to look at him.

"What's the matter?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. Sorry." Quickly, he turned off the car and let himself out. Sam followed quietly. She was scared too. Odd was just too proud to admit it.

Yumi answered the door, looking more like a zombie than ever. Her eyes had think, black rings beneath them, and they were puffy and bloodshot. But she was still as beautiful as ever. Sam smiled, hugging her tightly, before they all went inside.

"Sam!" Aelita exclaimed with a huge smile, jumping up from the couch to embrace her other best friend. The men, too Y-chromosomed to do more than a handshake when they first saw each other, just looked on quietly, before Jeremie and Ulrich continued their previous conversation. Odd tried to jump in, but Jeremie had gone all scientific. Even Ulrich looked confused.

"Now that you're both here," Aelita whispered from the couch, across the room from the boys, to Yumi and Sam. "I need to ask you something."

"Okay."

"Do you think…well…would it be possible for me to…have kids?" she said, visibly nervous. Sam and Yumi looked at each other, then at Jeremie. What had _they _been doing? They both laughed out loud at the thought, since they were guilty as well, but realized how serious Aelita's face was. This wasn't a laughing matter, apparently.

Sam spoke up first. "I don't see why not. You are still a girl, even if you lived in Lyoko first."

Yumi agreed. "Yeah. I mean, you are capable of having kids…" there was a pause, "right?"

Looking between them, Aelita shrugged. "I dunno. That's what I was asking you."

"Well," Sam continued, "there's sorta an obvious way to tell."

This gave Aelita hope. "Really?! How?!"

The two dark-haired girls looked at each other, saying "you can explain" simultaneously. And, poor Aelita, she just looked on, confused.

X

Sam and Odd kept glancing at each other over the table. She had only nibbled on her pizza, but Odd was as odd as ever. He'd already eaten five slices.

"Good thing we ordered extra," Yumi muttered, and all the girls agreed.

"Hey, don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful," Odd countered, which of course, had nothing to do with anything. Yumi laughed. "That's not why I hate you," she joked back.

Nanami started crying, ending all talk at the table. Ulrich and Yumi got up to check on her. Sam moved closer to her boyfriend, whispering in his ear. "Alright, when are we gonna do this?"

"I don't know…" Odd muttered. "You pick."

Sam stared at his expression. "Oh my gosh…is the great Odd Della-Robia actually scared?!"

"No!" he shot back, a little too loudly. Aelita and Jeremie looked up, but didn't say anything. "Fine," he whispered to Sam. "We tell them when Yumi and Ulrich get back."

She nodded, going to sit down. Picking up her pizza slice, she realized she wouldn't be able to eat even if she was hungry. Frustrated, she threw it back on her plate.

"Everything okay?" Aelita whispered worriedly. Sam nodded.

Yumi came back in, holding the small baby girl. "Nanami wanted to say hi, apparently."

All eyes flew to her. As Yumi reclaimed her seat next to Aelita, Ulrich came back in as well. "Alex is still asleep."

"Can I hold her?" Aelita asked. Yumi smiled and gently passed Nanami over.

Aelita smiled back, staring down at her goddaughter. Nanami yawned, big brass-colored eyes looking up at Aelita.

Sam looked at Odd, who closed his eyes and nodded. He clenched his fists together; he was scared, though he wasn't sure why.

"Uh…" Sam choked, looking around. "Odd and I have something we need to tell you…"

Everyone stared at them, confused; though they were pretty sure they already knew what they were going to hear. Yumi and Aelita both knew the news, unless more had come up, and, of course, they had to tell Ulrich and Odd.

"Well…I'm…" Sam sighed. "I'm pregnant."

X

_Okay, clearing a few things up now. One, Sam didn't know that everyone already knew about her being pregnant._

_Two, I still don't know the entire plot of this story yet. Ideas would be appreciated._

_Three, it may take me awhile to update. School is going to start soon, and I'm usually pretty busy. Especially since it's senior year this year. Just be patient with me!  
_

_Thanks for reading! Review!  
_

_Fox Kitsune_


	2. Becoming Parents

_Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko._

_Author's Note: Wow…already been 7 months…that's terrible. Where is all the time going? I'm sorry about the wait. It seems only a few of the readers of OTVOLG actually continued on to read this story, so I got a little discouraged. Not to mention school (and almost graduation!!!) and work, and everything else. I'll try harder to update more! Thanks for all the reviews! Lemme know about Lyoko please!  
_

Bitter Sweet

Chapter 2: Becoming Parents

Yumi stared out the front window, watching the cars pull away. It was sad, watching her best friends go; they had lives too, though. Today had been a good day, since everyone was able to see each other…she could only guess when the next time that happened would be.

She realized, with dismay, that it'd been a while since she'd heard from her parents. She wondered how they were doing. Hiroki was getting older. She missed them. Of course, she didn't regret not going with them, but she at least expected a phone call.

"The line goes both ways, Yumi," Ulrich muttered as he watched her eye the phone pensively.

The Japanese girl nodded with a shrug. "Yeah…but maybe it's not a good idea."

Ulrich took her hand with a smile. "Come on. They're your parents. Let's give them a call."

Maybe it was the way he smiled, or the certainty in his voice, or they way he said "let's"- including himself-she wasn't sure which, but at that moment, she knew she'd go along with any of his ideas…even if it lead her off a cliff.

"Alright…" she whispered, and picked up the phone.

X

Aelita paced back and forth across the living room, vaguely listening to her husband as he spoke to her. Her fists clenched and unclenched, her head swam, and she bit the inside of her lip to keep from saying or doing something stupid.

"Baby…you're going to wear a hole in the floor…" Jeremie told her. "Come sit down with me. Let's talk."

Now that she was away from her friends, she could react in the way that she wanted. She didn't have to paint her face and act like everything was perfect. It wasn't. He knew that. Why couldn't he understand, then?

"I don't want to sit…" she finally muttered, and continued pacing.

"Aelita…is this about what you talked to the girls about?" he finally asked, after silence-well, besides the sounds of Aelita's heavy breathing, and her feet hitting the floor-enveloped them.

The pink-haired girl froze, sighing. "…No."

Her husband jumped up at this. He couldn't just sit by idly and watch her when she was so upset. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer than he probably ever had. She laid her head on his shoulder, and Jeremie felt her tears soak through his shirt.

"Aelita…please don't cry."

"I'm not."

He didn't reply to this, because he didn't think he could. "Please, just tell me what's going on."

She dislodged herself and went to sit down. Jeremie stared after her for a moment, but then followed and planted himself beside her.

"Yumi and Sam said…well, that there's one way to tell for sure if you can get pregnant."

Jeremie tried to keep himself from hyperventilating. Of course it was about this, but why was she suddenly so interested in it? He wasn't sure he wanted kids ever, but especially not now. He just got a good job, and a nice house, and he and Aelita hadn't been married long. If they ever had children, he wanted it to be in a few years, at least. They were only sixteen, after all.

His wife looked at him, making sure he was listening. He nodded to show her he was. With a sigh, she continued. "Well…you know what I'm talking about…right?"

Again, he nodded. Already, his mind was thinking of less-awkward scientific replies in case she asked any questions. However, to his delight, she didn't.

"I don't…"

Jeremie looked down. She sounded so sad at this. And suddenly he understood. Aelita was a smart girl. She probably knew children now wouldn't be the best idea. Perhaps it was just having the choice in it. She wasn't even given that. He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sorry, Aelita…"

"Why?!" She almost screamed. "I mean, I'm a girl, aren't I? Everything else works! Why am I not…normal?" A few tears squeezed from her stubborn eyes and slid down her cheeks. Jeremie used his free hand to wipe them away.

"I don't know…" he muttered, his three least favorite words together. "I can think it's because you lived in a virtual reality, at least to our world, for so long that you didn't need certain aspects of the woman…I mean, do people even reproduce in Lyoko?"

"There aren't any people in Lyoko…" she replied callously, then realized she was only proving his point. She sighed yet again. "So…that's it? There's no hope?"

The blonde shrugged. "There could be. Maybe after you've spent enough time here, your body will adapt to fit our world better."

Aelita smiled coyly at him. "So you're saying that I need to practice?"

His eyes grew. "W-what?"

"By putting myself in a situation in which reproduction is possible, perhaps my body will change. That's what you were saying, right?"

He was sure he was three shades of red at that moment. "Well…I suppose…but that's not-"

He was cut off as Aelita smiled and pushed him down on the couch…

X

"Odd…?"

He didn't answer. Sam only heard the sound of his snores. Sighing, she rolled over in bed and stared at the digital clock on her bedside table. It was still rather early, too late to be up, but too early to think of starting the next day. She couldn't sleep though, and she sighed again.

This was all happening too quickly. Sam wasn't ready. She loved Odd, of course, but this all was such a big leap. She wanted the sex, sure…but not the responsibility of another life at such a young age. Curse her for having no extra money for rubbers that week…

Sam shook away the thought. She loved Odd. She loved being with him. She loved her unborn child, though she didn't know for what reason. Still…did she love the baby enough to go through with it? There was always another option.

Or was there? Abortion was stupid, but so was her getting pregnant in the first place. She had just graduated, for goodness' sakes. She didn't have a job, and Odd was making minimum wage working at a restaurant. A baby and its expenses were too much for now…too much for ever.

Still, now everyone knew the truth. It'd be too hard to cover it up. She could always say it was a false pregnancy or a miscarriage if she had to. She wasn't sure of what to do. Her head swam as she argued with herself for what felt like hours.

She would go, she decided, to get information tomorrow while Odd was working. It was just information. She didn't have to do it.

Life was complicated…

X

Yumi was in tears. Ulrich was shocked, since she seldom cried, but sure enough the girl was standing in front of a sink, heating up the second bottle under the hot water, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Yumi? What's wrong?"

She put the still cold bottle down and held her face in her hands. "I'm so sick of this, Ulrich…"

"Shh…" he whispered, coming over and rubbing her back. "You know you don't mean that."

"I'm just so tired…" she whispered in a weak voice. "I was expecting this…but…it's just hard, Ulrich…"

"Of course it's hard, but it's also rewarding." There was a brief pause. She agreed, silently, he knew, but he wasn't convinced. "Come on. Let's feed them and you'll see."

He grabbed the bottles in one hand, and Yumi's hand in the other. Together they walked the small house to the back room where Nanami was crying loudly and thrashing about in her crib, while Alex just stared up at the ceiling, almost patiently.

Their father picked up the crying girl and held her as he fed her the bottle. She gulped it quickly, at once content, her brown eyes almost smiling.

"See Yumi…" he whispered, entranced by his beautiful daughter. But Yumi didn't answer; she was asleep in the rocking chair…

X

"Hello."

Sam smiled shyly, hugging herself as she walked to the front desk. "Hi. I…um…uh…"

The woman seemed to understand. "Would you like some information, dear? You don't have to answer any big questions right away."

She nodded, taking the brochures quickly, as if trying to hide them. When she realized how ridiculous she looked, however, she stood normally. "Thanks…"

Walking over to the waiting area, Sam sat and flipped through the brochures, without really reading anything. Her eyes slyly scanned the other people in the room-three women, one a girl around her age, and a middle-aged couple. So many people were all brought together for the soul purpose of ending a nonexistent life. The thought made her sick.

Or maybe it was the morning sickness.

Either way, it didn't seem fair. The babies had no say in whether or not they should live or die; they had to trust their doubtful parents. All at once, Sam grew protective of her stomach, of the tiny body inside.

"Hi…"

Sam jumped, turning to follow the voice. The other teen girl, a pretty blonde with dark brown eyes, sat down beside her shyly. "I'm Veronica."

"Sam."

"Sorry to say such a thing," Veronica started, looking at her lap, "but it's nice to see someone else my age here."

The brunette stared down at her stomach, hugging herself again. "Yeah…but I changed my mind."

"Me too." Veronica sighed. "My boyfriend left me, and my parents already said that if I try to take care of a baby, I'm on my own…I think I'm going to get him or her adopted. I would feel way too guilty about this."

"I know what you mean."

Adoption? Sam hadn't thought about that. What would Odd want? Not this; not seeing her sitting in this building, even considering it. But would he want to get their child adopted?

Sam stood. She needed to see him. "I'm sorry. I gotta go. I hope for the best for you." She didn't hear what Veronica's reply, for she was already to the door. On her way out, she took the brochures and tossed them in the garbage can.

The lady behind the desk smiled.

X

_That's it. Sorry, this was rather short. Not much seemed to happen either. I'm still trying to decide where to go with this story, ya know?_

_About abortion. Don't ask me about it. I do not support it, but that doesn't change the fact that a lot of people turn to it. Also, I don't know if it's illegal in France, but for the story, it's legal._

_Sorry about the Jeremie/Aelita thing. I had to XP_

_I guess that's it. Please leave me a review and let me know. Any ideas would be appreciated!_


End file.
